374 replies to this topic

[Joe250]

That looks pretty solid compared to most British minis! Good luck with the build, looks like it's gonna be a beast. Are you keeping the arches and skirts? could look good if played about with a bit, at least they're metal and not fiberglass rubbish!

Thank you. When I originally drove out to look at this car, I was expecting to find rust. I looked and looked and looked. I crawled under the car. I climbed inside. I used a magnet to check everywhere. Other than some light surface rust on the roof, it appeared to be a rust-free car. I didn't know they made them like that!

Even after coming back from the sandblasters I thought, here we go. They will have uncovered all kinds of hidden rust and damage and I'll just end up scrapping this shell. Nope. The thing really is solid. The only rust damage is limited to a small section at the base of the rear seat. Apparently there were 5 or 6 holes in the floorboard at some time because a previous owner cut those sections out and welded in small sheetmetal squares. Where did the shell come from? How has it survived almost completely rust-free for almost 47 years?! I wish I knew.

As for the arches and skirts, my plan is to chop them clean off and go back to stock. I really wanted a stock Mk1 exterior, although I'm thinking that my choice of wheels (the 10x5 Revolutions) will dictate some sort of flares. If so, I'll likely just tack on some of the black matte plastic ones (sorry, don't know the name of this particular style).

[Joe250]

have you worked out your plans for the R1 yet ?

make sure those exup blanking plugs are knocked in real good - I lost one a fortnight ago and it sounded real bad.

I will doublecheck those plugs tonight! Thanks for the heads-up. I *ahem* failed to reinstall a small rubber o-ring when I bolted the oil pan back onto the R1 engine and ended up with a gallon of expensive new Castrol all over my garage floor. I'll be fixing that tonight and I'll give the plugs a couple extra whacks.

As for the R1 kit, MinieXvo is building me one now. I've spec'd it out with a Quaife LSD and it should arrive just in time to go along with the rest of the build. I've been tempted to mod the 2003 R1 motor I've got, maybe squeeze a few more horses out of it, but I've learned the hard way not to mess too much with engines. It can get really expensive really quickly, oftentimes at the expense of reliability, longevity, and driveability. The stock unit puts out a ton of power for its size, weight, and cost. So for now, other than the Fluke oil pan baffle and installing a Power Commander, it will remain untouched. Besides, I haven't even driven it yet!

How's your R1 Mini? I read your thread all the way through and it looks like it turned out really nice. What's it like to drive around town and in the twisties?

Thanks,
Joe

Edited by Joe250, 10 November 2008 - 06:05 PM.

[Joe250]

Great project.. I really like the idea about making a sleeper mk1!

How do those recaros fit? how much space will there be between the seats?

Keep the pictures coming!

Wired,

I'll use one word to decribe how the Recaro's fit:





'barely'.

Notice that the seats are up against the central exhaust hump, almost rubbing the B-pillars on either side, and not that far from each other at shoulder height. Definitely a tight fit. I might have the car back as early as next weekend with the seat rails mounted. If so, I'll post photos then of where the seats finally ended up.

[panelbeaterpeter]

I hope you didn't cut the hole out of the bulkhead just to take that picture I think the arches you mean are mini special arches? Group 2's might look better with mk1 styling? Just a thought.

[Joe250]

I hope you didn't cut the hole out of the bulkhead just to take that picture I think the arches you mean are mini special arches? Group 2's might look better with mk1 styling? Just a thought.

hehe no. In fact, that hole is being covered up at the moment. I am still learning my Mini arch terminology. I think of all the ones I've seen, I like these the best. Anyone know where this exact type is sold? I also like the black connecting piece that runs between the arches. Is that readily available?



Thanks,
Joe

[panelbeaterpeter]

Yeah they are mini special arches, as fitted to the Mini Special (funnily enough)and onwards to various minis as standard. You can get them easily from mini spares or mini mania, the sill trim piece is easy to get as well.

[tedmcedd]

in the set i bought of those, the connecting piece came with the arches, i got mine from minisport.

what dash was originaly in the car when you got it??

[Joe250]

in the set i bought of those, the connecting piece came with the arches, i got mine from minisport.

what dash was originaly in the car when you got it??

Ted,

I apologize. I thought I answered your question earlier. There was no dash in the car when I bought it. The upper metal dash was cut out completely and the lower dash was cut out but included. Also amongst the boxes of parts was this fiberglass dash:



Joe

Edited by Joe250, 04 October 2008 - 03:29 PM.

[mighty mini jack]

Ooo autoplas, you keeping it, they looks great fitted!

[tedmcedd]

i thought thats what it would be! you should consider using that, although your idea does sound good!

Ed

[Joe250]

The roll cage is in!


The giant hole in the firewall is now covered. You can see here the front suspension reinforcement as well, although I just realized I lost my windshield wiper motor mounting location! One more detail to be worked out.




You can just see the upper coilover mounting point I had them add.


And here's one of those mounts bolted up.




Running a cage on the street (i.e. unhelmeted) is usually not recommended. By mounting the seats to the floor, I ended up with plenty of clearance between my head and the cage. Mounting the seats lower required removal of the box section, which revealed plenty of rust hidden inside. Another weekend project!






Besides all the various diagonal bars you'll also notice the integrated harness bar. You'll also notice why there won't be any rear passengers in this car.


Coilovers means I'll be using a MiniSpares beam rear subframe. Unlike the stock one, this subframe only bolts to the car at the front, to the backside of the heelboard. I had them reinforce this area, which they did with this rectangular section that then ties into the rollcage.


Here the cage penetrates the rear bulkhead and ties directly into the rear coilover mount.


Of course, that means the stock tank won't fit any longer. I debated going with a fuel cell but ultimately decided to just have a section of the stock tank cut out.






Door beams are the norm for true race cars, but since this was meant to be a street car, I chose to go without. To pick up some more rigidity, they tied the lower bar into the body.










Now I need to grind all the rust out of the floor, then seal it and the rollcage. I was told to use the same thing that was already applied to the shell - PPG DP90. We'll see how that goes.

Joe

Edited by Joe250, 05 July 2014 - 11:58 PM.

[jayare]

Wow - that's one hell of an update! Looking good - have fun with it!

JR

[knightal7]

I dropped the car off at the rollcage fabricators last week. Because I'll be driving this car on track and doing some autocrosses I felt like it was going to be really tough on the chassis. I've seen 2-year old production cars splitting at the seams from constant autocross use with sticky tires. I can only imagine what screams of terror my Mini would let out if thrashed properly without any reinforcement. Beyond just the standard cage, I'm having them tie into the suspension mounting points front and rear. And of course, it's also a safety measure. Lots of pics when I get the car back in a couple weeks.

Now on to the parts that have shown up:















I pressed the bearings into the hubs - not a big deal, but something I'd actually never done before. Next time I think I'll use a press!



KAD makes some nice stuff! MiniSport too - that's their alloy swivel hub and drive flange.





And what problems have I run into? I found 4 things that didn't fit:
1. MiniSport alloy drive flanges - the holes for the brake rotor retainer bolts were too small! I drilled them out a bit and all is fine.
2. Revolution 10x5 wheels - the holes for the lug nuts were too small as well, but only on 1 of the 4 wheels. Strange. I have carefully drilled them out slightly also.
3. Mintex front brake pads won't seat in the front calipers completely as they conflict with the supplied caliper spacer bushes. No biggie though - just 5 seconds on the grinder and they slid in.
4. The Pro-Tech coilovers are made to mount to a 3/8" spindle on the rear swinging arms, but I spec'd these KAD units with 1/2" spindles for added strength. I thought I could just pick up larger ID bushes but I've had a difficult time locating some on the Net. Also, my email directly to Pro-Tech has gone unanswered so I think I'll just try to bore these out to the correct size.

So just a few minor setbacks, nothing huge. Of course the project has a long way to go yet...

I had the same problem with my Kad arms and my GAZ coil over shocks as i got the 1/2 inch shock pins on my swing arms, and the bushes were 3/8 on the shocks it was a simple as drilling out the steel insert of the bush to 1/2 inch as there is plenty of meat left on the steel insert and it leaves the bush intact.

[Joe250]

I had the same problem with my Kad arms and my GAZ coil over shocks as i got the 1/2 inch shock pins on my swing arms, and the bushes were 3/8 on the shocks it was a simple as drilling out the steel insert of the bush to 1/2 inch as there is plenty of meat left on the steel insert and it leaves the bush intact.

Thanks. I actually did the same thing but I'm wondering how well the rubber is going to hold up. No one seems to offer an appropriately sized poly bushing so I might have to buy an oversized one and just grind it down to size. If anyone knows where I can buy the correct part, I'd appreciate it.

Joe

[Joe250]

My apologies for the delay in posting. Plenty going on, just lots of little things really.

Fuel tank - I purchased a used 9 gallon tank a while back. I checked it for leaks (it passed), cleaned the inside and sealed it with a POR15 tank kit. Now I've stripped all the old paint off and sanded down any surface rust I found and primered it. Should have it painted black this weekend.






I installed my quick-release hinges. The front face of the bonnet stands proud of the front fender surface a fair bit. Is this normal fitment?




I'll be re-using the original speedo unit (just for looks and for the fuel gauge I'm afraid). The inner trim ring needed some cleaning up. Should have that painted this weekend as well.



I cut some foam tubing to act as spacers for the harnesses. They'll be zip-tied down when all is said and done. You can also see the extinguisher that arrived. Will be mounting that soon.



The new clutch and brake pedal assembly arrived. It is a nice unit for the money but I'm not looking forward to fabricating a custom mounting bracket for it.



And then this little gizmo showed up from Pro-Shift:







More later...

Edited by Joe250, 10 December 2012 - 03:47 PM.